Recipes

I’ve suffered through burnt french fries, soggy french fries, and bland french fries. I’ve said goodbye to those fries and perfected the new method.

The bad news? This method is a little more labor intensive. The good news? These fries will rock your world.

So here’s what makes these fries special: you boil them first! Not only do you boil them, you boil them in salty-like-the-sea water. I want you to salt your water and then taste it. Salt it until it tastes like the ocean. I mean it. This helps you avoid the “bland”.

I like to cut my fries a little on the thick (“thicc” if you’re Husband) side – somewhere between a McDonald’s french fry and a jojo.

Once they’re cut, boil for about 10 minutes, drain, and rinse with cold water. Lay out some paper towels and pat them thoroughly dry. Then toss them in olive oil and a little more salt (trust) and bake for 25-30 minutes at 425 degrees F.

Your fries will be golden and crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and perfectly salty. You. Are. Welcome.

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Lately, I’ve been obsessed with smash burgers. I initially discovered them at a bar up the street from our house (shout-out to you, Haymaker!) and then dreamed about them constantly. Now it’s the only burger I want.

Unfamiliar with the smash burger? Let’s get into it. When you picture an amazing cheeseburger, you probably think if a thick, medium-rare patty. That is not this burger. This is a thinner, crispy on the outside patty that tiptoes towards well-done. I know: this is surprising for the girl who consistently makes fun of her father in law for liking his steak well-done.

But this is a different experience. The charred outside and thin patty stacked with American cheese (JUST DO IT OKAY I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT) and then another patty with more American cheese is one of the best things you’ll ever put in your face. Especially if you add pickles.

I feel your skepticism. I do. But once you smash, you’ll never go back.

Oh, and you get bonus points if you order dry aged ground beef from Porter Road. Seriously, it’s the best thing I’ve ever eaten. Use promo code ADUCKSOVEN for $15 off your first order!

And what I mean by that is, there’s a secret ingredient that is frowned upon. Now is the time to put your judgy face away.

Ready?

Processed cheese.

LET ME EXPLAIN MYSELF.

Have you tried to make fondue before? It can be really hard to get right. It’ll take forever to melt and get smooth, then suddenly you’ll have gone too far and the texture is gritty and totally off.

Not so if you use processed cheese! Let’s be clear: I’m not buying a pack of individual American cheese slices or Velveeta. My preference is to go to the deli counter at my grocery store and get processed Swiss cheese in a block. No mass plastic waste from individually wrapped slices (not to mention you don’t have to open all of those individually wrapped slices).

I do like to use some real deal Gruyere to fancy things up and add flavor.

My pro tips for the perfect fondue:

Be patient! It might take a bit to melt down.

Use medium heat. A lot of people will say to keep it loooow, but with processed cheese, you have more wiggle room.

Don’t use all the wine to start. Start with about half, then set the rest aside and add to thin out the fondue. You can easily thin it out, but you can’t thicken it unless you have more cheese!

My go-to dippers are apples, sausage, and obviously a mountain of bread. Really feeling DIY? Try making some homemade focaccia!

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These Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies are perfectly chewy, and the milk crumb and blueberries add a twist to make them just different enough to be fun!

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I’ve been a little obsessed with Christina Tosi’s cookbook Milk Bar. I’m not really a baker, but I’m hoping to get better at it. I do scones here and there, but those are dang easy. Every time I tell people I’m kicking off this effort with Christina’s book they look at me like I’m crazy. Let’s just say: it isn’t traditional.

There are elements to her recipes that take a lot of time: making a crumb first, whipping the butter for a full 10 minutes total, refrigerating the dough for at least two hours. But all of these details are what make her cookies perfect.

I was craving an oatmeal cookie, so I turned her Blueberry and Cream Cookies into Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies. Wooowwwwwza. Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies are a huge upgrade from your standard oatmeal cookie, and the creamy milk crumb makes them all the better.

I know some work goes into these Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies. But take the time. Do it right. When I’m thinking ahead, I make the dough before bed and bake them in the morning so the dough can really set up overnight. Really though, 2 hours will do the trick. Don’t short this time! I did the first time I made one of Christina’s cookie recipes… and it was a mistake.

Instructions

For the Milk Crumb: Heat the oven to 250°F.

Combine the 40 grams (1/2 cup) milk powder, the flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Toss with your hands to mix. Add the melted butter and toss, using a spatula, until the mixture starts to come together and form small clusters.

Spread the clusters on a parchment- or Silpat-lined sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes. The crumbs should be sandy at that point, and your kitchen should smell like buttery heaven. Cool the crumbs completely.

Crumble any milk crumb clusters that are larger than 1/2 inch in diameter, and put the crumbs in a medium bowl. Add the 20 g (1/4 cup) milk powder and toss together until it is evenly distributed throughout the mixture.

Pour the white chocolate over the crumbs and toss until your clusters are enrobed. Then continue tossing them every 5 minutes until the white chocolate hardens and the clusters are no longer sticky. The crumbs will keep in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer for up to 1 month.

For the Cookies: Combine the butter, sugars, and corn syrup in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs, and beat for 7 to 8 minutes.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix just until the dough comes together, no longer than 1 minute. (Do not walk away from the machine during this step, or you will risk overmixing the dough.) Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.

Still on low speed, add the milk crumbs and mix until they’re incorporated, no more than 30 seconds. Chase the milk crumbs with the dried blueberries, mixing them in for 30 seconds.

Using a 2 3/4-ounce ice cream scoop (or a 1/3-cup measure), portion out the dough onto a parchment-lined sheet pan. Pat the tops of the cookie dough domes flat. Wrap the sheet pan tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 1 week. Do not bake your cookies from room temperature—they will not bake properly.

Heat the oven to 350°F.

Arrange the chilled dough a minimum of 4 inches apart on parchment- or Silpat-lined sheet pans. Bake for 18 minutes. The cookies will puff, crackle, and spread. After 18 minutes, they should be very faintly browned on the edges yet still bright yellow in the center; give them an extra minute or so if that’s not the case.

Notes

Be patient! Refrigerate the dough, fully whip the butter. Don’t take short cuts!

Keywords: Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies

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Sous vide desserts get a bad rap. Lots of “but why tho?” Which I totally get! But when it comes to treats like cheesecake, creme brulee, and custards, sous vide is amazing. Your desserts come out perfectly consistent, with no jiggly center. It takes out all the guesswork!

National Cherry Cheesecake Day is in April (is there a holiday for every food now?!) so I decided to go for it and make some sous vide cherry cheesecake of my own!

Predictable: it was delicious.

I know you’re going to read “canned cherry pie filling” and be horrified. GET OVER IT. There are lots of cans of cherry pie filling with good, clean ingredients – like the one I used! The ooey-gooey texture of this filling is exactly what you need to get a classic cherry cheesecake feel.

To mimic a “crust”, I just sprinkled some crushed graham crackers on top. ‘Cause who’s here for the crust, anyways?

Ingredients

Get immersion circulator setup and start preheating water bath to 175 degrees F. This is a hot temperature for sous vide cooking: don’t forget to place a trivet under your container!

Add all ingredients for cheesecake to a blender. Blend until smooth – there should be no cream cheese chunks and eggs should be completely incorporated. You may need to pause the blender and use a spatula to scrape down the sides a few times.

Place the undamaged lids on your jars. Close to “finger tight” (you should be able to easily unscrew with just your fingertips). Drop jars carefully into water. Jars should be completely submerged and you should see small air bubbles escaping the jars. If the jars are floating, your lid is on too tight.

Let cook for 1 1/2 hours. Remove mason jars to a towel on the counter to cool. Once cool to the touch, place in the refrigerator to chill overnight.

When ready to serve, spoon cherry pie filling on top of cheesecakes and sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs. Serve!

Keywords: sous vide cheesecake

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This sous vide hollandaise sauce is so easy to whip up. Dump all your ingredients into a jar, cook for a half hour, then blend! Sous vide + an immersion blender make this the most simple hollandaise recipe yet.

Here in the Cole house, we don’t really do brunch out. I know, weird, especially since we live in Portland, the land of brunch.

But we like slow mornings, where we don’t have to get dressed or leave the house and can spend hours sipping coffee without standing in an epic line outside a restaurant.

But as with all things difficult, sous vide makes it doable! Thanks to sous vide, I can have it all! Easy sous vide hollandaise is a game changer.

Part of what makes hollandaise so challenging is the balancing act of getting the eggs to just the right temperature without cooking them. With sous vide hollandaise, the temperature is held exactly where it needs to be for the perfect length of time.

With this easy recipe, you just dump all of the hollandaise ingredients into a jar, put it in the waterbath, and let it cook. After 30 minutes, you remove it from the waterbath, stick an immersion blender in the jar, blend until thick, and serve. You literally can’t mess it up.

Use this recipe to make eggs benedict with sous vide hollandaise, or try it as a sauce for salmon, asparagus, and other springtime favorites. It’s the best.

Easy Sous Vide Hollandaise

Description

These sous vide hollandaise sauce is so easy to whip up. Dump all your ingredients into a jar, cook for a half hour, then blend! Sous vide + an immersion blender make this the most simple hollandaise recipe yet.

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Hey! I'm so glad you're here!

I'm Chelsea and I’m a 20-something graduate of the University of Oregon currently in Portland, OR. I first started this blog as a college student hoping to encourage other students to branch outside of pizza and boxed mac and cheese. While some things have changed since I finished school, I still rely on simple recipes to produce fun, comforting food!

I like to think of myself as adventurous with my cooking, but my style is usually simple. You just gotta get dinner on the table.